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With the close of 2019, I enjoyed taking time for end of year reflections. Several highlights stood out to me. These are things I’m glad I did in 2019.
Stopped coloring my hair and transitioned to my natural gray.
I’ve always wanted to be brave enough to go natural in my forties; to be one of those women who don’t let society influence their idea of what beauty looks like. When I started losing my hair I took a break from hair dye. As my roots got more prominent I decided to quit coloring cold turkey.
The transition was not easy. I hated looking at my reflection in the mirror. But I stuck to it, and I love the transformation. The first time I saw a photo of myself with my new gray, I was shocked. But I’m getting used to it now. In fact, I get more compliments about my hair now then I ever did!
Let my son wean naturally, as a five year old.
My little guy celebrated his fifth birthday this year, and I sensed it was time to wean for both of us. I never imagined I’d nurse a child for as long as I did my own. The whole idea of breastfeeding kind of weirded me out. But once I had my kids my perspective changed, and I didn’t want to rush them. Breastfeeding is the best thing I ever did as a mom. It’s natural, healthy, and a true bonding experience. I know it gives kids a sense of security in life, because they are attached emotionally.
Made exercise a habit.
I managed to exercise 4-6 times a week during the whole year of 2019. At first it was hard, and some days it still is, to drag myself out of bed and exercise first thing. Now my body craves it. I wake up sore and stiff, and exercising loosens me up. I know I have developed muscle too, which is really important for women as we age.
Performed duets with my daughter.
I wanted to encourage my daughter to play her clarinet more, so I bought a flute and clarinet duet book. We started practicing some classical music and before long, we were volunteering to play at our town’s summer art walk. Then, at Christmas time, we were invited to play at a holiday tea during the market festival. We got paid for that gig which was an extra bonus!
Established a family sabbath with “sundaes on Sundays.”
This was hard for me, because I’m always “doing.” Picking up toys, cooking dinner, thinking about my next project. The practice of sabbath for Christians comes from the creation story. After creating the world and everything in it, God rested. He stopped doing.
For our family taking a sabbath has come to mean resting from “work” (laundry is a big one for me) and engaging in something enjoyable that purposefully slows us down.
We also added a rule for our sabbath-no electronics. I was really inspired to do this after reading Andy Crouch’s book, The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place (affiliate link). This was continues to be the biggest challenge for us all.
We’ve replaced screen time with other activities, such as doing jigsaw puzzles. We’ve found the 200-300 piece puzzles by Ravensburger (affiliate link) to be our favorites. They’re easy enough for younger children, like our five year old, but not too boring for us or our teenager. And the quality of the cardboard pieces is superb.
We end our Sunday sabbath with sundaes. Dishing out our favorite ice cream flavors into special sundae dishes marks this special time of the week. We keep jam jars filled with different toppings, like mini m&ms, toffee bits, peanut butter chips, and hot fudge to pile on the goodness. It’s a fun way to end sabbath and start our week.
End of year reflections can be really helpful. For me, I wanted to focus on the positives so I could enter the new year feeling encouraged. I’m really excited to make goals this year. I don’t think I’ve done it since college!
What are some of your end of year reflections?
